NDPC advocates national budget for contraceptives in Ghana

Ghana’s population has increased by 9.1 million from the 2006 census of 18.9 million to 24 million in the last census conducted in 2010.

The alarming rise in population has been attributed to low patronage of contraceptives, especially among women.

It is reported that less than a quarter of women use contraceptives because one out of every three women meet their needs in family planning. Poor access to contraceptives especially among rural women have been identified as one of the factors contributing the population rise.

Speaking at the launch of the 2017 World Population Day: FP2020 Ghana Satellite event, Commissioner of the NDPC, professorAgyeman Badu Akosa said it is inappropriate for only donor partners to fund contraceptives in Ghana.

“In a country where we leave that in the hands of our donor partners the day they do not provide the money we are caught in a real catch twenty two situation that is why we are saying we need to have a budget line that spells family contraceptives devices,” he said Minister for planning, Prof George Gyan Baffour, noted family planning is a vital variable in the development of every country. “If the population is growing faster than the rate of growth the economy the implication is very obvious that means that per capital income is on a decline and poverty will be on ascendance” he saod.

Dr. Leticia Appiah, Executive Director of National Population Council, encouraged the use of contraceptives among the youth and also among families to control the number of children base on their financial income.